Services / The seat

“We’re between a design agency and a full-time hire, and neither fits.”

The seat. Design leadership at the top table.

Embedded with your leadership team one to two days a week. Interim or fractional. Brings commercial orientation to the design function and installs the method as part of the engagement.

The seat

A fractional CDO, one or two days a week, ongoing. The whole method runs inside your boundaries: the direction decided, built in, steered, and measured, as a standing capability. It can start here; the seat does not wait for the other rungs.

Scope and stage set the shape of it, so we agree the figure together against the value the seat carries.

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Who it's for

  • Series A-C companies
  • Building or scaling a design team
  • Founder-led
  • Past the point where the founder can carry the design opinion alone

How it works

The first engagement is always a structured discovery: customer-development interviews, a detailed design-org capability map, a read across the method. The output is a quarter plan with named owners.

From there the rhythm settles into weekly strategy work, monthly leadership review, and a quarterly reading that shows whether the distinctive value landed.

The exit

Built into the contract from day one. By the time the engagement ends, your team owns the method and runs it. The capability stays behind; the dependency doesn't.

Frequently asked

What does 1-2 days a week actually look like?
Typically a half-day on-site or video each week with the founder + design lead, plus 4-8 hours of strategic work between sessions (research synthesis, frameworks, hiring panels, stakeholder alignment). Cadence flexes to whatever the engagement needs.
How do you work with an existing Head of Design?
At the strategic level. The Head of Design owns the team and delivery. Flowdonia operates one level up, bringing commercial orientation, customer-development methodology, and the differentiation method that runs under every engagement. It is a partnership, and your Head of Design keeps the team.
What if we don't have a design team yet?
Then the first engagement is usually a Design Org Evaluation: capability assessment, structural recommendation, then either a hiring panel for the first senior hire, or a short Operating Model Install if the team can stay small.
How do you measure outcomes?
Closed-loop measurement is built into the method. Brand Strength KPIs (relevance, differentiation, engagement, consistency, authenticity); NPS, conversion, and task success across touchpoints; a reading that shows whether the distinctive value landed. Quarterly review built into every engagement.
When is this NOT the right fit?
You already know what to build and just need hands. Hire the designers directly. Happy to help you pick them.